Yilan lives in an apartment with his mother, who is a language teacher; his father, a sales manager; his grandmother; and two small, yellow parrots. The whole family gathers together for dinner each night. Yilan's favorite meal is his mom's sweet-and-sour pork.

But he admits he doesn't have much time to read. He usually has at least an hour of homework every evening – and often more than that.

Most Chinese children also have an English name – such as "Henry" or "Jack" – that sounds close to their Chinese name. But Yilan's English name, which his parents chose, is "Seven Eleven" because "I was born on July 11 – 7/11," he explains.

When he grows up, Yilan wants to go to college in the United States and study to become a lawyer since "I'm good at talking," he says. He then plans to return to China to work.

He would like to live "in a quiet place, like Sanya," a beach town on Hainan Island, in southern China. His other grandmother, his mom's mom, lives on Hainan Island, and when he goes to visit her there, he likes to swim.

Yilan has big plans for his future. For now, though, he is enjoying being a kid: When he finishes his interview with me, he thanks me politely in English and returns his attention to a video game.